SAN FRANCISCO--Aiming to re-create the excitement that accompanied the launch of Windows 95, Microsoft is gearing up for a massive campaign to launch Windows Vista.

Chairman Bill Gates has tasked the Windows marketing team with repeating its achievements with the decade-ago launch, such as convincing scores of people to line up at retail stores to purchase the operating system. The marketing budget won't be finalized until the end of Microsoft's fiscal year in June, but "regardless of that, we're still being held to that goal," said Dave Block, a senior product manager for Vista.

Speaking to a crowd of hardware developers at the Intel Developer Forum here, Block noted that there is a team at the company's Redmond, Wash., headquarters focused entirely on generating buzz for the OS, planning such things as having a Vista PC make Oprah Winfrey's influential "favorite things" list.

"Can we get a cool new PC in front of Oprah?" Block asked. "Can we do stuff like that? I think we can."

One of Microsoft's chief business goals is to spur businesses and consumers to buy higher-end versions of Vista. Microsoft announced last week that there would be six major versions of Vista, including a new "ultimate" edition of the OS that will combine the best of the company's corporate and home features.

Microsoft says it expects more than 400 million PCs to be running Vista within 24 months of the launch. Block said the goal is to reach a rate within that time where more than half of the machines are running some premium version of the OS.

"We want to hit a 50 percent run rate for Windows Vista premium in the first 24 months," Block said. "That's a substantially more aggressive run rate than we were able to hit with Windows XP."

More bang for the buck? Getting customers to buy pricier versions of the OS translates directly to Microsoft's bottom line.

Microsoft is focusing much of its efforts on touting Vista as better-equipped to handle some of the key tasks that computers don't tackle as well today. Microsoft has identified 14 of these "scenarios"--eight for businesses and six for consumers.

On the consumer side, Microsoft is focusing on digital memories, TV and movies, games, music and communications. On the small-business front, Microsoft is pitching Vista as the key to better backup and security, improved sales and marketing pitches, and improved collaboration and mobility, as well as touting it as a hub for financial management. Its big business push centers on management of PCs, security and compliance, controlling information access, and handling an increasingly dispersed work force.

"There's no rocket science here," Block said, noting that all are tasks that computer users currently want to do, but in which Microsoft is "not doing well in delivering that experience today."

In some cases these are areas where no one has stood out, but in other areas, Block said Microsoft is looking to "address competitive gaps we have today," as well as perceived gaps.

"We want to be able to build out a completely seamless experience for customers," Block said. "That's where the hard work will be."

Block noted that much of the energy in the computer world has shifted away from the PC and toward devices like digital cameras or the iPod. With Vista, Microsoft is hoping the PC will regain prominence as the machine that unites all of those digital devices.

But unlike rival Apple Computer, which makes its own hardware and software, Microsoft must convince partners to aid it in reaching its goals.

For digital photography, for example, Microsoft is looking to camera makers, printer makers, online photo finishers and software makers, all of which it hopes will want to refine their processes in order to display a "premium" Vista logo. To help woo them, Microsoft is promising that such premium products will be the ones the software giant touts at its launch events, worldwide post-launch tour, in marketing and in kiosks it is designing to go in retail stores.

On the PC side, Microsoft will also be pitching computer makers to qualify machines not just for a basic Windows Vista label, but for a special Vista Premium logo that will go only on machines that can take full advantage of Vista's high-end graphics capabilities.

And lest it lose any sales in the months ahead of Vista's launch, Microsoft plans in about a month to kick off a campaign that will allow PC makers to sell PCs with a "Vista-capable" label.

One of the challenges Microsoft is confronting with Vista is that some machines will be capable of running Vista but will lack the memory and graphics horsepower to show off its most visible improvements.

That creates some marketing challenges for the software maker. For instance, some machines will be able to run Vista and thus be eligible to be sold over the next few months as "Vista-capable." But because they lack the necessary graphics driver software, they will never be able to be sold pre-loaded with Vista, nor do they qualify for Microsoft's basic or premium Vista logos.

Still, it has been five years since Microsoft last launched a mainstream operating system--Windows XP--and the company is clearly gearing up.

Microsoft has already talked about the Vista launch as its biggest event since the Windows 95 launch, but matching the mainstream enthusiasm from consumers generated by that product is a tall order. One thing working in Microsoft's favor is its ability to simultaneously tout its launch of Office 2007, which is also coming out in the second half of this year.

To get all its marketing ducks in a row, Microsoft plans a three-day conference for its partners in early May in Los Angeles, just ahead of the computer game industry's annual E3 trade show.

"It's basically going to be a dry run for the Vista launch," Block said.

If Vista has a lot of DRM stuff built into it then I'll probably stay with XP or consider a Linux alternative.

Stealing software, music, and videos are the 3 main things I do with my computer. If I can't do that, then what would I use it for? If I wasn't so poor, of course I'd pay for it. But I have no money to give, and if I steal a few videos it's not like I actually took something out of someones hands, or as though they lost out on an opportunity to make a sale. Maybe that's a little more socialist of me to think that everyone should have unlimited access to information, but then again, that's exactly what my Library does, and that's funded by the gov.

Hopefully someone will come out with patches for DRM to get rid of it.

I definitely see how this system could create a much smoother and efficient computing experience.

I'm interested also in seeing how this platform will effect businesses and how they can take advantage of new development tools to make the consumers purchasing experience more efficient, more productive, and more interesting. This will mainly effect user interaction on web pages.

Application development will become more visual and user friendly. More information will be presented in graphical representations rather then raw data. Information will become mobile and will be accessed from anywhere.

Should be interesting... I plan on buying it if I can ever afford a tablet pc good enough to run it.

Vista and WinFX is something I have been waiting for quite sometime, but I would like to see what kind of support for Vista 64-bit operating system is in place. Vista, if actually with good 64-bit capabilities(both in terms of applications, drivers and support) can lead the transistion of the avg. joe from 32-bit to 64-bit computing.

"I'm interested also in seeing how this platform will effect businesses and how they can take advantage of new development tools to make the consumers purchasing experience more efficient, more productive, and more interesting."

I am waiting and to tell you the truth if its launched in India at the same time I'll be on the stores sooner than you can say aloha!!I have already a graphics powerhouse as my main desktop and i have postponed my 2nd desktop buy to the athlons new platform and vista.I cant wait, I have seen the beta and if that is getting better than I am in... NO DOUBT!!!!

I'm sure, just like every other MS product release the number of vulnerabilities discovered, worms and viruses released in the wild, will be heavier than the normal amount of MS virus releases for a while.

Note that after Windows Server 2003 came out there wasn't a rush of new vulnerabilities found. Vista will be the first new desktop/consumer version of Windows since XP and one major difference that's occured since then is that MS examined it's code and eliminated a great number of vulnerabilities. That and their new emphasis on not needing everyone signed on as administrators all the time should make it harder for the hackers.

On the business side, Microsoft's problem is that it's not 1995 and the IT landscape, not to mention the business climate, has changed dramatically since then. In 2006, companies are not going to be eager to upgrade hundreds of thousands of their worker bees unless they see some solid cost/benefit reasons. Maybe Microsoft can sell based on Vista's enhanced security; that is, assuming Vista really does have better security, which I think is very much an open question so far. I don't think business is exactly going to be overwhelmed by Vista's other new features, not even the 64 bit support, and certainly not by any new multimedia and entertainment features. Some of these latter features are Nice to Have, sure, but are these features perceived as really essential to routine daily work? No way, not yet.

Vista is not the paradigm shift in usability that Windows 95 was. Back then they were moving people from black command lines to point-and-click ease of use. Today they're trying to say... what? That the OS looks Good Enough to Lick(TM)? Might work in the consumer space where Apple sells most of its OS X to, but I'm not sure if fancy-schmancy graphics is what the business people are concerned about.

Better security? More stable? That remains to be seen. Not to mention experienced.

I don't enjoy the prospect of a significant hardware upgrade (RAM, and perhaps a new graphics card) for my relatively new PC, which is less than a year old. Windows Vista has yet to prove itself, one way or the other. So I intend to keep Windows XP...it's proven to be quite reliable. As the old saying goes---If it isn't broken, don't fix it. The new hardware requirements for Vista are going to be a poor selling point, not only for older PCs, but newer PCs as well.

PCs are affordable enough that it makes sense for those interested to upgrade to Vista by purchasing a new PC in a year or two. That way, one can rest assured that all of the hardware is fully compatible. On the other hand, this is most likely the underlying strategy by Microsoft and Windows Vista---a massive marketing campaign to get people to purchase a new generation of PCs, most likely DRM crippled in both software and hardware.

As for security, if the conflict of interest Microsoft offers by introducing Windows OneCare and Windows Defender at the same time as Vista is any indication of Vista's security, then it won't be worth the upgrade.

Windows 95 gave me long filenames and real boosts to the OS. I have yet to hear what I can do with Vista that I can't do now just as well. And without the expense and hassle of upgrading my OS, my apps and my hardware. I don't expect to run Vista until I get it bundled with a new machine.

I hope they have some more skins (basic blue, silver, olive, media center blue), I'd like to customize the OS look, and to a lesser extent feel with out having to slow it down my rig to a crawl with third party solutions (I know there a .DLL file that lets you run unsigned skins but I shouldn't have to surf through the net to find them (the skins), micro$oft should offer the cutomer more freebees. A home user needs a system backup for dummies button.

With video games systems being what they are I don't need a pc for games anymore (sorry to shock); a low end system easily handles almost every media task (except for transcoding), so why buy a new OS that would ruin all this?

You're right...companies that advertise the most (like Apple) still have nothing to show for it, as proven by OS X's laughable 3% world wide market share. Thank goodness Apple has the ipod though, lol.

Don't cry as Windows continues to handily dominate over all other operating systems.

You guys are HILARIOUS! You think Windows is dominant on account of SUPERIOR QUALITY to Mac OS??

WOW!

Then, based on your logic, the same could be said of the following:

Shania Twain is artistically superior to Miles Davis (or even Mozart) because she has sold more records.

McDonalds makes THE BEST HAMBURGERS IN THE WORLD!! And that "mom &#38; pop" establishment down the street from you with people lined up outside the door during rush hours? Gotta be CRAP food there, as they haven't sold "billions and billions" of hamburgers.

Dell makes the best computers in the world! BETTER than any roll-your-own PC you or any other individual could ever TRY to cobble together!

Need I go on?

Ya get the drift?

Microsoft Windows is dominant for one reason and one reason ONLY:

Bill Gates is a tremendously smart wheeler and dealer.

Actually, there's another reason:

Many of Apple's Board and CEOs over the years have been really REALLY stupid.

Are you people actually aware of the fact that Bill Gates sold IBM on LICENSING DOS -- AND YET HE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE IT? Microsoft had NOT CREATED DOS as of yet! Gates sold IBM VAPORWARE, convinced the BLIND boys at IBM to accept a non-exclusive license... and then promptly went out looking for an operating system TO BUY AFTER THEY SEALED THE DEAL WITH IBM! Microsoft bought DOS from a small company called "The Seattle Computer Company" for $50,000.00. THAT's DOS. THAT'S what you guys ran on for years and years, and it only happened on account of Bill Gates' BIG HAIRLY BALLS.

Bill Gates deserves (almost) every penny he's got, but only on account of his excellence in The Art of The Deal; NOT because DOS -- and Windows -- are technologically superior to Mac OS (be it X or older). The crown was Apple's to lose, and they let it slip from their fingers on account of their own short-term greed and arrogance.

For starters, Microsoft's marketing budget DWARFS Apple's. remember all the MARKETING HYPE surrounding Windows 95 ( <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/" target="_newWindow">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/</a>microsoft/stories/1995/debut082495.htm )?? God, they had a gigantic banner hanging down the entire height of the Toronto CN Tower; the world's tallest freestanding structure. Ditto with bathing the Empire State Building in Microsoftian color themes. Didn't they deface the Eiffel Tower in some ay as well? And just how much was it to license the Stones' "Start Me Up"?? You don't want to know.

So, if you're right, then Windows truly does SUCK.

Next, Apple does very VERY little computer marketing, and in fact has NEVER released an ad for their operating system, certainly not since Mac OS X came out in 2001. Apple is selling more Macs in recent years and (SLOLY) growing market-share because people are getting fed up with that "superior" operating system that Microsoft puts out. HOW are they finding out? Apple retail stores, the iPod/iTunes experience are two reasons. But, if they weren't either frustrated beyond belief over Windows, or blown away by how nice the iPod/iTunes ecosystem works, they wouldn't be looking to "switch", now would they?

In the crystal ball department, it is reported today that investment house Needham &#38; Co predict that Apple could gain a 9% market-share ( <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/" target="_newWindow">http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/</a>index.cfm?NewsID=14042&#38;Page=1&#38;pagePos=2 ). I hope they do -- but not much beyond 10%. Apple would have a very healthy situation at 10% -- but not be dominant enough to bee harassed by hackers and virii like Windows is (despite OS X's more firm security). Apple's CPU sales are up at least 24% over 2005. So, maybe they'll pull it off?

Meanwhile, if great software sells itself, prepare yourself for the biggest push of that piece of **** operating system, Windows Vista (to use YOUR logic, of course). Rest assured that M$ will pull ALL the plugs to get Vista off the racks and into people's homes and corporate deployments.

How fortunate, then, that Apple does not fall victim to similar tactics!

Good thing they never toot their own horn declaring their (arbitrary and subjective) superiority over the competition. Good thing they don't have a yearly event reinforcing said claims to the masses who buy it hook, line, and sinker and leave in a dazed frenzy of ecstacy and stupor not seen since the era of the boy bands. Good thing they don't have to put their CEO on stage to anchor said event because he's the only one at the company who's actually worth anything.

In those good ol days I remember cussing at Windows, vowing never to cave to the NEW operating system.

Working endlessly on work arounds. Through each NEW version came the challenge to get around it.

As the operating system got bigger and with my clients needing answers to their Windows questions I was forced to learn it, fix it, and boy that was a task, install it and eventually resort to reselling it.

Thinking back I laugh at my resistance to the whole thing and the time wasted in work arounds.

Today is a new day though. Once Vista hits I will be prepared to face it head on. By the time the NEW operating system arrives I will have 7 Domain Names with VISTA in them, the latest patches, helpful information for my clients and hopefully a whole other income stream.

I can just invision all the high end equipment in trash bins and bulk auction lots. mine, mine, mine...

I guess the best advice I can give is either buy an umbrella or get wet. It's gonna rain like hell.

Most of the claims for vista I've heard before, better security better blah blah blah! Remember when it was important that we converge on one code base from the forked path we were on? Then it happened but now we are at multiple forks in the road again. I wonder if in a few years we can pay to be unified again? As a small businessperson, I find it hard to justify the constant upgrades. It depends on the job really, but for a lot of workers I think you would find no difference in productivity if they were on Win 95 or XP. Unless I see something that would really help make the company money I see no need for upgrades until it just wont do the job anymore.

If you take a look at Windows 2000, XP, and Vista, there really isn't much of a forking issue. The last time there was anything major for concern was Windows 2000 versus Windows 9x/ME. Windows 2000 and higher are all on the Windows NT path, and 9x and ME are on the old DOS path.

If you are going to be running Windows, there is definitely a productivity difference between Windows 95 and XP. Part of the difference is due to the greater stability of the NT code base, and part is due to user interface refinements.

With Vista, the only "forking" is in feature sets and not in the code base. When it comes to compatibility, I don't see an issue. It reminds me more of Windows XP Home versus XP Professional than Windows 2000 versus ME.

ME is way more closely related to 98, then XP is to ME. Not that I would take ME over 98 (no thinking person would). XP is radicly differnt from the previous OS's. I just hope they learned their lesson with ME and continue the forward progression they've shown with XP. Time will tell I guess.

There is no need to say you don't use Microsoft products. It is obvious.

1. Win2K was never marketed for home users. In short, Microsoft decided that game and driver compatablity was not good enough so instead they released ME with part of the "Windows 2000 Home" feature set.2. I know no one who still uses Windows 98. Acording to my website it has 5% of the market and I think that is close to being right.3. XP has very little in common with WinME. XP is derived from Win2K.4. IE 6 works on Win2K and it is a free upgrade. It is nothing to do with XP SP2.

come on guys, i know Windows can be buggy at times and stuff but it's not THAT bad. And just remember that Microsoft has given the chance to work and play on PC's to millions of lesser skilled people, young and old alike, ( and if your younger than 20, there is a good chance that windows raised you during your childhood!)

Actually, I see Microsoft's giving "the chance to work and play on PC's" as akin to a drug dealer giving you the first couple of hits for free. They know you'll quickly become addicted and pay top dollar for what they are selling, even if it's really bad for you.

Maybe that will be the 1 feature that Apple actually steals from Microsoft instead of the other way around! By the way, the same feature (Expose for IE7 or whatever it is called) has been available as an extension for Firefox for quite a while.

I will stick with OS X, I switched a year ago and am very glad that I did.

I assume you're replying to my post about Expose within IE 7? Seems you replied to the article and not my post.

At any rate, I'd welcome Apple ripping that off. The thing I wonder about Vista's ALT-TAB is whether or not you can drag-and-drop between their "exposed" windows lie Expose can. This is a hugely productive function of OS X's Expose, and my guess is that Vista CANNOT do this.

Why don't you just get most of what Vista will have and buy a Mac. The new Vista features are at the very least 1 year old for OS X but a lot of the features are more like 3 years old for OS X? Do you really want to help Microsoft debug Vista when it is finally out of Alpha and the Gold Beta Disk is released to the general public?

One the one hand, most of the new features of Vista are, at best, superficially implemented in OSX, and I would prefer the full deal. Call me picky.

On the other hand, I helped debug OS X when it was released ( we installed it, crashed, burned, pulled it, did a limited roll out, crashed, burned, pulled it, and finally sat on our butts until Adobe, Quark, and every other major manufacturer put out something usable, then again crashed and burned). OS X, as first released, was more of a joke then the TPC builds of Vista; but how quickly the fan bois forget&

Report offensive content:

If you believe this comment is offensive or violates the CNET's Site Terms of Use, you can report it below (this will not automatically remove the comment). Once reported, our staff will be notified and the comment will be reviewed.

E-mail this comment to a friend.

E-mail this to:

Note: Your e-mail address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the e-mail and in case of transmission error. Neither your address nor the recipients's address will be used for any other purpose.